49ers dominate Bears to win battle of backup QBs

SAN FRANCISCO -- Strong-armed fill-in Colin Kaepernick made all the right throws, looking every bit a capable NFL No. 1 quarterback.

Kaepernick passed for 243 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start in place of the injured Alex Smith, and the San Francisco 49ers whipped the Chicago Bears 32-7 Monday night, Nov. 19, in a highly touted NFC showdown that hardly lived up to the hype.

Kaepernick threw touchdown passes to Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree, and Kendall Hunter ran for a 14-yard score as San Francisco (7-2-1) jumped out to a big lead by scoring on each of its first four possessions.

"I really wasn't too nervous," Kaepernick said. "I've had a lot of time in this offense. My teammates were really supportive."

Jason Campbell, the other quarterback in this matchup of backups, threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Marshall in the third quarter but was sacked five times and threw two interceptions in his first start since October 2011 for Oakland.

He faced fierce pressure all night in place of starter Jay Cutler, who is recovering from a concussion suffered eight days earlier -- just like Smith.

After Kaepernick's stellar night on the big stage, there's certain to be chatter of a quarterback controversy for the NFC West-leading Niners.

He shared the Monday night stage with linebacker Aldon Smith, who took over the NFL sacks lead with 15 after a 5 1/2-sack game that is the second-best in franchise history, behind Fred Dean's six-sack day on Nov.

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13, 1983, against New Orleans.

Tarell Brown and Dashon Goldson each had an interception for San Francisco's stingy defense, which shut down Campbell, Matt Forte and Co. three years after the teams last met in a 10-6 49ers home win.

"It definitely wasn't our best effort, by no means," Campbell said.

Kaepernick, Aldon Smith and Hunter sure made general manager Trent Baalke look good for his selections from the 2011 draft class.

And reigning NFL coach of the year Jim Harbaugh earned a key victory four days after his own health issue.

The 48-year-old Harbaugh underwent a minor procedure for an irregular heartbeat Thursday.